Here at Chulo we wanted to showcase the creatives with a Q&A to dive a little deeper into the Artists inner workings - today we spotlight artist Mike Delmar.
Tell us a bit about what keeps your creative juices flowing, do you search for inspiration or does it come naturally?
Inspiration is a massive blessing when it hits. Sometimes it hits like a log and you can’t think of anything else except the things it inspires. Sometimes it’s sneaky and when you’re stuck on an idea for days, you wake up with a screaming lightbulb above your head demanding you do something about it. And sometimes it comes and goes only to be forever forgotten. I keep a log of the things I plan, which is pretty hilarious to read back: random keys words I’m sure meant something profound at the time; juvenile musings; grandiose concepts beyond my capabilities. But I’m sure bits and pieces of them all eventually end up on a page somewhere somehow.
What's been your favourite project to date and why?
I love print works. I always romanticise my days working for the Roundhouse more than 15 years ago (god that makes me feel like a dinosaur). Band posters, party posters, wall art. Total freedom to stick anything on a poster and print a whole suite of merchandise for it. That said, I never was very good at cataloguing my work back then, so I’m sure most of it aint as cool as I remember it to be.
Tell us a bit about your process, do you start off searching for reference and sketching?
I can be pretty arrogant and do a lot of stuff from memory, or my imagination, but it always pays to reference. You can only really get to the essence of an image by understanding the subject matter to the best of your ability. Thumbnail sketches, layouts, grid work, drafts. They all contribute to the final product in a way that improves it somehow. Warm ups are also huge. I’m lucky I work in a role where I spend a lot of time concepting, and doing fast impressions of ideas, so I get to flex those muscles regularly. You gotta pay your dues with those things.
What made you want to pursue a career in the arts and do you have any tips for up and coming artists looking to do the same.
I’ve never been much of a wise man. Never been very good at strategy or logistics. I dream a lot and spend a lot of my time trying in vain to get to the essence of banal and theoretical questions. I get lost in history and pop culture and pretend I’m an anthropologist. It’s sort of pathological in a way, but growing up I always knew I needed to channel it somehow, it was just plain sight for me. When I grew up and thought I should get serious about life I deviated from the path and tried law. I just felt empty not creating. I had this niggling voice calling me back to image making. Being where I am now, doing what I’m doing, just feels right. If I had any advice for up and coming artists, or anyone for that matter, it’d be listen to that voice. Its worth it. All that shit people say about not doing what you love is exactly that: bullshit.
But maybe I’m an idealist.
Check out Mike Delmar’s latest work here. For more portfolios from Chulo Creatives Artist stable click through here , also get in touch with Chulo Creative if you are interested in commissioning an artist for your next campaign.